Automation API

Page automation before screenshot capture

Automate page interactions — click, type, scroll, and wait — before taking a screenshot. Handle login walls, dismiss consent dialogs, trigger JavaScript states, and navigate multi-step flows.

Steps commands

Use step commands like click, type, wait, and screenshot with optional target selectors.

Popup and cookie handling

hide_popups=true applies anti-banner methods and filter rules so screenshots focus on content.

Ad suppression

hide_ads=true minimizes ad noise in visual regression checks and monitoring snapshots.

Video evidence

video=true captures full interaction flow with mp4, webm, or gif format support.

Live example

Login to a website, then capture

The automation fills the login form, submits it, waits for the dashboard to load, then takes a screenshot — all driven by the steps parameter.

Live example

Interact with dynamic page elements

Trigger chart tooltips, run searches, expand tree nodes, open drawers — any interaction a real user would perform. Capture the exact state you need, not just the initial page load.

Code example

Run automation steps in your language of choice

Every SDK supports the full steps parameter. Submit the job and poll or use a webhook to collect the result.

curl -X POST https://api.screenshotcenter.com/v1/screenshot \
  -H "X-API-KEY: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com/dashboard",
    "country": "us",
    "steps": [
      { "command": "click",      "selector": "#login-btn" },
      { "command": "type",       "selector": "#email",    "value": "user@example.com" },
      { "command": "type",       "selector": "#password", "value": "secret" },
      { "command": "click",      "selector": "button[type=submit]" },
      { "command": "wait",       "value": 1500 },
      { "command": "screenshot", "target": ".dashboard" }
    ],
    "hide_popups": true,
    "hide_ads": true,
    "video": true,
    "video_format": "mp4"
  }'

import { ScreenshotCenterClient } from 'screenshotcenter';

const client = new ScreenshotCenterClient({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

const screenshot = await client.screenshot.create({
  url: 'https://example.com/dashboard',
  country: 'us',
  steps: [
    { command: 'click',      selector: '#login-btn' },
    { command: 'type',       selector: '#email',    value: 'user@example.com' },
    { command: 'type',       selector: '#password', value: 'secret' },
    { command: 'click',      selector: 'button[type=submit]' },
    { command: 'wait',       value: 1500 },
    { command: 'screenshot', target: '.dashboard' },
  ],
  hide_popups: true,
  hide_ads: true,
  video: true,
  video_format: 'mp4',
});

const result = await client.waitFor(screenshot.id);
console.log(result.screenshot_url);

from screenshotcenter import ScreenshotCenterClient

client = ScreenshotCenterClient(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

shot = client.screenshot.create(
    url="https://example.com/dashboard",
    country="us",
    steps=[
        {"command": "click",      "selector": "#login-btn"},
        {"command": "type",       "selector": "#email",    "value": "user@example.com"},
        {"command": "type",       "selector": "#password", "value": "secret"},
        {"command": "click",      "selector": "button[type=submit]"},
        {"command": "wait",       "value": 1500},
        {"command": "screenshot", "target": ".dashboard"},
    ],
    hide_popups=True,
    hide_ads=True,
    video=True,
    video_format="mp4",
)

result = client.wait_for(shot["id"])
print(result["screenshot_url"])

use ScreenshotCenter\Client;

$client = new Client(getenv('SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY'));

$shot = $client->screenshot->create('https://example.com/dashboard', [
    'country'      => 'us',
    'steps'        => [
        ['command' => 'click',      'selector' => '#login-btn'],
        ['command' => 'type',       'selector' => '#email',    'value' => 'user@example.com'],
        ['command' => 'type',       'selector' => '#password', 'value' => 'secret'],
        ['command' => 'click',      'selector' => 'button[type=submit]'],
        ['command' => 'wait',       'value'    => 1500],
        ['command' => 'screenshot', 'target'   => '.dashboard'],
    ],
    'hide_popups'  => true,
    'hide_ads'     => true,
    'video'        => true,
    'video_format' => 'mp4',
]);

$result = $client->waitFor($shot['id']);
echo $result['screenshot_url'];

import sc "github.com/juliensobrier/screenshotcenter-go"

client := sc.New("YOUR_API_KEY")

videoTrue := true
shot, err := client.Screenshot.Create("https://example.com/dashboard", &sc.CreateParams{
    Country: "us",
    Steps: []sc.Step{
        {Command: "click",      Selector: "#login-btn"},
        {Command: "type",       Selector: "#email",    Value: "user@example.com"},
        {Command: "type",       Selector: "#password", Value: "secret"},
        {Command: "click",      Selector: "button[type=submit]"},
        {Command: "wait",       Value: "1500"},
        {Command: "screenshot", Target: ".dashboard"},
    },
    HidePopups:   true,
    HideAds:      true,
    Video:        &videoTrue,
    VideoFormat:  "mp4",
})
if err != nil { log.Fatal(err) }

result, _ := client.WaitFor(shot.ID, nil)
fmt.Println(result.ScreenshotURL)

require "screenshotcenter"

client = ScreenshotCenter::Client.new(ENV["SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY"])

shot = client.screenshot.create("https://example.com/dashboard",
  country: "us",
  steps: [
    { command: "click",      selector: "#login-btn" },
    { command: "type",       selector: "#email",    value: "user@example.com" },
    { command: "type",       selector: "#password", value: "secret" },
    { command: "click",      selector: "button[type=submit]" },
    { command: "wait",       value: 1500 },
    { command: "screenshot", target: ".dashboard" },
  ],
  hide_popups: true,
  hide_ads: true,
  video: true,
  video_format: "mp4"
)

result = client.wait_for(shot["id"])
puts result["screenshot_url"]

import com.screenshotcenter.ScreenshotCenterClient;
import java.util.*;

ScreenshotCenterClient client = new ScreenshotCenterClient("YOUR_API_KEY");

var steps = List.of(
    Map.of("command", "click",      "selector", "#login-btn"),
    Map.of("command", "type",       "selector", "#email",    "value", "user@example.com"),
    Map.of("command", "type",       "selector", "#password", "value", "secret"),
    Map.of("command", "click",      "selector", "button[type=submit]"),
    Map.of("command", "wait",       "value",    "1500"),
    Map.of("command", "screenshot", "target",   ".dashboard")
);
var params = Map.of(
    "country",      "us",
    "steps",        steps,
    "hide_popups",  "true",
    "hide_ads",     "true",
    "video",        "true",
    "video_format", "mp4"
);
var shot   = client.screenshot().create("https://example.com/dashboard", params);
var result = client.waitFor(shot.getLong("id"), null, null);
System.out.println(result.getString("screenshot_url"));

using ScreenshotCenter;

var client = new ScreenshotCenterClient("YOUR_API_KEY");

var shot = await client.Screenshot.CreateAsync("https://example.com/dashboard",
    new Dictionary<string, object> {
        ["country"]      = "us",
        ["steps"]        = new[] {
            new { command = "click",      selector = "#login-btn" },
            new { command = "type",       selector = "#email",    value = "user@example.com" },
            new { command = "type",       selector = "#password", value = "secret" },
            new { command = "click",      selector = "button[type=submit]" },
            new { command = "wait",       value    = 1500 },
            new { command = "screenshot", target   = ".dashboard" },
        },
        ["hide_popups"]  = true,
        ["hide_ads"]     = true,
        ["video"]        = true,
        ["video_format"] = "mp4",
    });

var result = await client.WaitForAsync(shot.Id);
Console.WriteLine(result.ScreenshotUrl);

Browse all SDK docs →Full API reference →

Frequently asked questions

What page automation steps are supported?

Click, type, scroll, wait, navigate, select, hover, and screenshot. Steps run sequentially in a real Chrome browser before the final capture.

Can I log into a website before taking a screenshot?

Yes. Chain click and type steps to fill login forms, then wait for the dashboard to load before capturing. You can also inject session cookies directly.

How do I dismiss cookie consent popups?

Set hide_popups=true to automatically dismiss consent banners using built-in filter rules, or use a click step targeting the specific dismiss button.

Can I record a video of the automation?

Yes. Add video=true to capture the full interaction flow as MP4, WebM, or GIF — useful for client reports, QA evidence, and compliance trails.